{"id":586650,"date":"2026-05-16T03:35:10","date_gmt":"2026-05-16T03:35:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/586650\/"},"modified":"2026-05-16T03:35:10","modified_gmt":"2026-05-16T03:35:10","slug":"chuggers-backing-mental-health-charity-kicked-out-of-tamworth-town-centre","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/586650\/","title":{"rendered":"‘Chuggers backing mental health charity’ kicked out of Tamworth town centre"},"content":{"rendered":"

The unlicensed charity collectors claiming to support a mental health charity have been removed from a town centre<\/p>\n

16:39, 15 May 2026Updated 18:05, 15 May 2026<\/p>\n

\"Stock<\/p>\n

Stock image of a coin being placed in a charity collection(Image: Anthony Devlin\/PA Wire)<\/p>\n

Illicit charity collectors working for a group which claims to support mental health good causes have been removed from a Staffordshire<\/a> town.<\/p>\n

The collectors, known as ‘chuggers’, were said to be from Hectic Minds, which says it raises \u2018funds and awareness for mental health\u2019.<\/p>\n

But the collectors did not have a licence from in Tamworth<\/a> Borough Council to allow them to carry out the fundraising activities and were moved on from the town centre on Thursday (May 14).<\/p>\n

Read more: Heartbroken tributes to ‘beautiful young dancer’ after death of schoolgirl<\/a><\/p>\n

Hectic Minds says its aim is to \u2018help those with mental health issues step onto the employment ladder whilst also raising funds for charities\u2019.<\/p>\n

It says on its website it offers work for people who \u2018who suffer from issues such as anxiety and depression\u2019.<\/p>\n

And says: \u201cHow much a person can earn is completely up to them as we offer a commission based rate of pay, with a zero retainer selling our wristbands.\u201d<\/p>\n

Get breaking news on BirminghamLive WhatsApp<\/a><\/p>\n

The organisation says it works on a similar model to homeless social enterprise, Big Issue, where people sell its magazines.<\/p>\n

It says as well as offering work to those who \u2018struggle with several mental health conditions\u2019 to \u2018earn an honest living\u2019, it also has made sizeable donations to the UK\u2019s leading mental health charity, MIND.<\/p>\n

Hectic Minds says any profits it makes are \u2018invested back into the organisation\u2019.<\/p>\n

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But Tamworth Borough Council said as those claiming to work for Hectic Minds did not have the appropriate permissions they were moved on.<\/p>\n

The authority also said members of the public should not make donations to any unauthorised collectors.<\/p>\n

A spokesperson for the borough council said: \u201cWe\u2019re aware of individuals currently operating in the town centre claiming to collect donations on behalf of Hectic Minds without permission from the council.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur officers are attending the area and are asking the individuals to leave. We would advise residents and visitors not to make any donations to unauthorised collectors.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll collections within the town centre must be authorised by the council and collectors should be able to provide valid identification and permission when asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you have any concerns, please speak to a council officer or report suspicious activity to the police. Thank you for your cooperation.\u201d<\/p>\n

BirminghamLive has approached Hectic Minds for a comment but at the time of publication has yet to hear back.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The unlicensed charity collectors claiming to support a mental health charity have been removed from a town centre…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":586651,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[44],"tags":[102,1906,6623,2783,58020,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-586650","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-mental-health","tag-health","tag-mental-health","tag-mentalhealth","tag-staffordshire","tag-tamworth","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/586650","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=586650"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/586650\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/586651"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=586650"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=586650"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=586650"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}